Zuma outraged over Maroga's removal as Eskom CEO - Hogan

Johannesburg - A repeated power outage on Tuesday forced an early halt to the state capture inquiry proceedings.

The Zondo commission was hit by numerous outages during the second half of former public enterprises minister Barbara Hogan's testimony on her tenure as minister overseeing state enterprises such as Eskom, Transnet and South African Airways (SAA) between 2009 and 2010.

Hogan was detailing the events leading up to the resignation of Jacob Maroga as Eskom CEO, telling the inquiry that Zuma was angry when he learnt of the imminent removal of Maroga.

The board had planned to remove Maroga after he indicated his intention to resign during a dispute.

"He said 'what do you think you're doing' and I said 'what'. He said 'Moroga, you've got to stop it. Tell them [board] they've got to stop now... I tried to speak, reason [with him] and he said 'I don't have time, I'm in transit. You can call me and we can discuss further'," she said.

She then requested a meeting with Zuma and was allocated a 10-minute slot, during which she was told the former president could meet with her properly during a lunch break.

After this did not materialise, she appealed to ANC SG Jessie Duarte and after this, finally met with Zuma.

During this second meeting, Hogan detailed how Zuma instructed her to "confirm Maroga back as CEO" and receive both Maroga and the board's version of events before making her call.

Hogan told the inquiry that the saga surrounding Maroga's resignation, coupled with what had transpired at Transnet with Siyabonga Gama's appointment, showed how her executive authority had been stripped completely.

"I had already gone through the previous months of June-September [dealing] with matters relating to Gama and I had previously experienced how the president saw his role. We then come into the issue of the CEO of Eskom and the president goes further than he did with Gama and he actually just installs someone in the position of CEO, does not even consult with me.

"And my view at that point was that my executive authority had been completely taken away from me by the president. I did not see my way clear you know... what was to happen in the future."

Hogan's testimony is expected to continue on Wednesday, where she will focus on the South African Forestry Company (Safcol).